I | INTRODUCTION |
Liberia, republic in West Africa, on the Atlantic
Ocean coast. A sparsely populated land, Liberia was founded in the early 1800s
by freed American slaves. The Liberian Civil War, from 1989 to 1996, killed
150,000 people and devastated the country’s economy and infrastructure. Liberia
is bounded on the north by Sierra Leone and Guinea, on the east by Côte
d’Ivoire, and on the south and west by the Atlantic Ocean.
II | LAND AND RESOURCES |
Liberia rises gradually from the Atlantic
coastal plain, through a region of hills and plateaus, toward the steep Guinea
Highlands. Liberia has an area of 99,067 sq km (38,250 sq mi). Monrovia is the
capital and largest city.
A | Natural Regions |
Estuaries of parallel-flowing major
rivers—such as the Mano, Lofa, St. Paul, and Cavally—break the monotony of
Liberia’s straight shoreline but provide no harbors. The coastline extends 579
km (360 mi). Constant heavy surf and moderate tidal range have built up
sandspits and sandbars that shift over buried stones in the river mouths. The
coastal plain, extending about 80 km (about 50 mi) inland, is fringed with
lagoons and swamps.
Farther inland, the land rises gradually
to densely forested ridges of hills. Steep escarpments separate the hill country
from the sparsely populated plateaus to the north. Above these plateaus rise the
discontinuous Guinea Highlands and Nimba Range along the border with Guinea. In
the valleys are many open grasslands, with scattered thickets of brush and dense
woodland. Mount Wuteve is the highest point in Liberia, at 1,380 m (4,528
ft).
B | Climate |
The climate of Liberia is equatorial and
humid, particularly during the June to July and October to November rainy
seasons. Annual rainfall varies from 2,240 mm (88 in) in the interior to 5,210
mm (205 in) along the coast. The average temperature in Monrovia is about 26°C
(about 79°F) in January and 24°C (about 76°F) in July.
C | Plants and Animals |
Mangrove trees line Liberia’s tidal
estuaries and lagoons. Beyond the coast grow various kinds of palms, screw
pines, and rubber trees. In the evergreen forests are a mixed assortment of
hardwood and broadleaf species, including ironwood and sassy. Deciduous forests,
less dense than the evergreen forests, yield mahogany and softwoods.
Wildlife has been depleted and survives
mainly in the east and northwest. Large mammals include the elephant, leopard,
buffalo, the endangered pygmy hippopotamus, and various deerlike animals such as
the bongo, duiker, and water chevrotain. Among reptiles are the dangerous Nile
crocodile and numerous snakes, some poisonous.
D | Natural Resources |
Although Liberia has primarily an
agricultural economy, minerals and forest products such as wood and rubber are
its most important resources. The country has significant deposits of iron ore,
diamonds, and gold. Hydroelectric power plants have been constructed on several
streams, including the St. Paul River.
E | Environmental Issues |
Rich in biodiversity, Liberia was almost
entirely forested until recent decades. Forest and woodland now cover only 28
percent (2005) of the land, although much of this is relatively undisturbed
tropical wet forest. Shifting agriculture is the major cause of forest loss, but
logging is an increasingly important factor. In addition to deforestation, major
environmental threats include soil erosion and water pollution from mine
tailings in rivers to oil and sewage along the coast. Wetlands are also
threatened by agriculture and firewood collection.
Although there are several national
forests in Liberia, logging is permitted within them. The only truly protected
land is in Sapo National Park in eastern Liberia. Protected land makes up 12.7
percent (2007) of the country’s area.
III | POPULATION |
The vast majority of the people of Liberia
belong to one of several indigenous African ethnic groups. The largest of these
groups are the Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, and Kru peoples. Americo-Liberians,
descendants of emancipated slaves who emigrated from the United States, make up
no more than 5 percent of the population. They live mostly in coastal cities and
towns.
A | Population Characteristics |
Liberia has a population (2008 estimate) of
3,334,587, giving the country an overall population density of 35 persons per sq
km (90 per sq mi). Civil war between 1989 and 1996 drove hundreds of thousands
of Liberians into neighboring countries as refugees. In 2004 the United Nations
estimated that there were still 335,470 Liberian refugees living in neighboring
countries. An estimated 48 percent of people within Liberia live in cities and
towns. Most Liberians make their living by farming or herding.
B | Principal Cities |
Monrovia is the capital of Liberia and by
far the country’s largest city. Other important communities are the coastal
towns of Buchanan and Harper; and the inland trade centers of Zwedru, near the
border with Côte d’Ivoire, and Yekepa, close to the Guinea border.
C | Religion and Language |
About 43 percent of Liberia’s people follow
traditional animist religions. About 29 percent are Christians (most
Protestants) and 16 percent are Muslims. English is Liberia’s official language
but is spoken by only about one-fifth of the people. The rest of the people
speak various African languages which mainly belong to the Mande, West Atlantic,
or Kwa linguistic groups.
D | Education |
Education is free and compulsory for
children between the ages of 6 and 15. However, a scarcity of educational
facilities means that few Liberians progress beyond primary school. Almost all
children of primary school-age attend school, but the figure drops to 23 percent
(1999–2000) for secondary school-age children. Just 60 percent of the population
was literate in 2005. Higher education is provided by the University of Liberia
(1862), in Monrovia, and several colleges.
IV | ECONOMY |
Civil war destroyed much of the economy of
Liberia, particularly the infrastructure in and around Monrovia. Prior to the
war the country had encouraged foreign investment in the development of its rich
natural resources, mainly rubber, iron ore, and timber. Many of these investors
were slow to return after the end of hostilities. With 72 percent of the labor
force engaged in agriculture and forestry, the postwar government hoped
educational and vocational training programs would encourage the development of
other sectors. During the war, Liberia’s gross domestic product (GDP)—the total
value of goods and services produced within a country—dropped to a fraction of
prewar levels. The economy improved after the end of the civil war in 1996, but
large numbers of returning refugees led to high unemployment rates.
A | Agriculture |
Rice and cassava are the principal food
crops of Liberia; the country must import rice to meet its needs. Fruits,
vegetables, and sweet potatoes are also grown for local consumption.
Liberia’s dominant export crop is rubber,
the production of which rebounded quickly after the end of the civil war. Other
cash crops include oil palm fruit (from which palm oil is extracted), coffee,
cocoa, and sugar.
B | Forestry and Fishing |
Timber is Liberia’s other important export
earner. Most timber is exported in the form of uncut logs, but the government
has encouraged development of the sawmilling industry. Most fish caught in
Liberia are freshwater fish consumed locally. The Liberian commercial deep-water
fishing catch includes sole, lobster, crayfish, shrimp, and crabs.
C | Mining and Manufacturing |
The Liberian Civil War and declining world
demand for iron ore led to the complete shutdown of Liberian iron mining in the
early 1990s. After the war, Liberian mines produced diamonds and gold. Liberia
has few major manufacturing industries. Small-scale production of food products,
construction materials, and consumer products is carried on.
D | Currency and Banking |
The unit of currency is the Liberian
dollar (58 Liberian dollars equal U.S. $1; 2006 average). The Central Bank
of Liberia (1974) sets the value of the domestic currency.
E | Foreign Trade |
The main exports of Liberia are rubber and
wood. Imports include foodstuffs, petroleum, and machinery. Liberia’s principal
trading partners for exports include Germany, Indonesia, Greece, Poland, and
Italy. Leading sources for imports are France, South Korea, Japan, Singapore,
and Germany. In 2000 exports earned the country $470 million while imports were
valued at $500 million.
F | Transportation and Communications |
The civil war destroyed Liberia’s already
dilapidated transportation network. Railroads that connected port cities with
now-defunct iron mines have deteriorated and are no longer operable. Only about
6 percent of the country’s roads were paved in 1999. The major airport is
Monrovia Roberts International, east of Monrovia. The Liberian merchant marine,
because of low registry costs, small annual fees, and absence of operational
controls, has one of the largest tanker fleets in the world. In 2007, 2,171
ships were registered in Liberia; most were owned by foreign interests. Due to
the country’s poor road connections, particularly in the east, coastal shipping
is an important means of transport.
Liberia’s major newspapers include the
Inquirer, the News, and the Analyst, all
independently owned and printed on a daily basis.
V | GOVERNMENT |
Following a coup d’état in 1980, Liberia’s
original constitution, dating from 1847, was suspended. A new constitution came
into force in 1986.
A | Executive |
Liberia’s head of state and government is a
president. The president and vice president are jointly elected to a six-year
term by universal adult suffrage.
B | Legislature |
Legislative power is vested in a
two-chamber National Assembly. This body is composed of a Senate, whose 30
members are elected to nine-year terms, and a House of Representatives, whose 64
members are elected for six years.
C | Judiciary |
The Liberian judicial system is largely
modeled after that of the United States. The People’s Supreme Court consists of
a chief justice and five associate justices. Subordinate courts are established
by the legislature, and all judges are appointed by the president for life
terms.
D | Health and Welfare |
Malaria, yellow fever, and schistosomiasis
are prevalent in Liberia. In 2008 average life expectancy at birth was 43 years
for women and 40 years for men; the infant mortality rate was 144 per 1,000 live
births. Some hospitals are operated by the central government, but no national
social-welfare system exists.
VI | HISTORY |
Liberia owes its establishment to the
American Colonization Society, founded in 1816 to resettle freed American slaves
in Africa (see Slavery). An attempt at colonization in Sierra Leone had
failed in 1815. Six years later native rulers granted a tract of land on Cape
Mesurado, at the mouth of the St. Paul River, to U.S. representatives, and the
first Americo-Liberians, led by Jehudi Ashmun, began the settlement. In 1824 an
American agent for the society, Ralph Randolph Gurley, named the new colony
Liberia and the Cape Mesurado settlement Monrovia. Other separate settlements
were established along the coast during the next 20 years. Soon, however,
conflicts arose between the settlers and the society in the United States. By
the time Joseph Jenkins Roberts became the first black governor in 1841, the
decision had been made to give the colonists almost full control of the
government. A constitution modeled on that of the United States was drawn up,
and Liberia became an independent republic in July 1847. Roberts was its first
president, serving until 1856. Liberia was recognized by Britain in 1848, by
France in 1852, and by the United States in 1862.
A | Relations with Indigenous People |
The Americo-Liberian communities eked out
a precarious existence during the 19th century. Claims over interior territory
were disputed not only by the indigenous Mandinka (also known as Mandingo or
Malinke), Kru, and Gola peoples, but also by European states that did not
recognize Liberian jurisdiction over the interior. U.S. support led to a series
of agreements with Britain and France between 1892 and 1911, which marked the
present boundaries. (Liberian control over the interior peoples, however, was
not completely assured until the 1940s.) Loans from Britain and the United
States partially eased the country’s financial difficulties. Liberia declared
war on Germany on August 14, 1917, which gave the Allies an additional base in
West Africa during World War I (1914-1918). In 1926 the Firestone Tire and
Rubber Company opened a rubber plantation on 400,000 hectares (1 million acres)
of land granted by the Liberian government the year before. Rubber production
became the mainstay of the nation’s economy.
In 1931 the League of Nations confirmed
that Americo-Liberians were using native Africans for forced labor, tantamount
to slavery. The ensuing scandal implicated the highest government officials; the
president and vice president resigned. By 1936 the new government had succeeded
in abolishing forced-labor practices and Liberia was again in good standing with
the League. The indigenous population, however, was still treated as
second-class citizens, without voting rights.
B | Tubman’s Regime |
U.S.-Liberian relations became closer
after the United States entered World War II (1939-1945). In 1942 the republic
agreed to allow U.S. troops to be based in the country despite the fact that
Liberia did not declare war on the Axis powers until 1944. In 1945 Liberia
became one of the original member states of the United Nations.
Following his election in May 1943,
President William V. S. Tubman pursued a policy of national unification and
economic development through foreign investment. The latter policy led to the
exploitation in the 1950s of iron-ore deposits in the Bomi Hills, located north
of Monrovia.
In the presidential election of May 1951,
women and indigenous property owners voted for the first time, but the few
thousand Americo-Liberians living in the coastal region still retained control
of the government. The incumbent Tubman, candidate of the dominant True Whig
Party, was reelected without opposition. The government had suppressed the
Reformation and United People’s parties. Their leaders, supported mainly by
residents of the hinterland, were arrested or exiled following the election.
President Tubman was returned to office in the 1955 election, but he narrowly
escaped assassination during his victory celebration. Thirty people were
indicted for treason; two former cabinet ministers and five others were
convicted.
Considerable progress, both social and
material, was made during Tubman’s later terms as president. Thus, in February
1958, the legislature passed a law making racial discrimination punishable by
fine and imprisonment for citizens and by deportation for aliens. During the
1960s a Swedish-American group completed a major iron-ore project near Mount
Nimba, and German investors developed iron-ore resources in the Bong Range. The
Liberian Bank of Industrial Development and Investment was established in 1965
to provide capital for private investment.
During this time President Tubman held a
firm rein on power. After some labor unrest within Liberia and coups elsewhere
in Africa, he was given emergency powers in February 1966 for 12 months. In 1967
he was reelected to his sixth term (a year ahead of time), and he was returned
the seventh time in May 1971. Two months later he died and was succeeded by
William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberia’s vice president since 1951.
C | Violent Change |
Under Tolbert’s leadership during the
1970s, Liberia loosened somewhat its close ties with the United States. In 1974
it accepted economic aid from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR),
and in 1978 it joined with other developing countries in a trade agreement with
the European Community. Domestically, emphasis was placed on bringing the
isolated interior into national political life and on improving the economic
conditions of the indigenous population. In 1979, however, the country was
paralyzed by riots caused by a proposed increase in the price of rice, the
staple food. More than 40 people were killed in the violence.
In 1980 Tolbert’s opponents, emboldened by
a court decision recognizing them as an opposition party, openly called for his
overthrow. Their leader, Gabriel B. Matthews, and a dozen others were arrested.
A month later, on April 12, a bloody coup was staged by army personnel under the
leadership of Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe. Tolbert and many of his aides were
killed. A People’s Redemption Council, headed by Doe, subsequently suspended the
constitution and assumed full legislative and executive powers. More than a
dozen officials of the previous regime were publicly executed.
Under pressure from the United States and
other creditors, in July 1984 Doe’s government issued a decree that allowed the
return of political parties outlawed since 1980. Doe, however, used his power to
assure that opposition parties did not threaten his domination, and he won the
presidential election in 1985. By the late 1980s inflation was rampant and
exports were almost nonexistent. In addition, relations with the United States,
Liberia’s major foreign benefactor, deteriorated because of government
corruption and human-rights abuses.
D | Civil War |
In December 1989 a group of dissidents
began an uprising against the government. The National Patriotic Front of
Liberia (NPFL), a rebel group led by Charles Taylor, soon had an ill-trained
army of 10,000 men, and within weeks they controlled much of the countryside. A
split among the insurgents only increased the violence as fighting continued
into 1990. An Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) monitoring
group (ECOMOG) was sent to Liberia as a peacekeeping force, but failed to halt
the fighting. Doe was captured and executed by a splinter group of the NPFL in
September 1990. The destruction of Liberia’s economy begun by Doe was completed
by the war.
The war spread through Liberia, as the
NPFL battled ECOMOG, the Liberian army, their splinter group the Independent
National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), and the United Liberation Movement
of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO), composed of former allies of Doe. By early
1991, ECOMOG held Monrovia and the NPFL controlled the rest of the country. In
October 1991 ECOWAS and the NPFL agreed to disarm and establish an Interim
Government of National Unity (IGNU). The NPFL began to disarm in early 1992, but
clashed with ECOMOG forces, and in August was attacked by ULIMO from Sierra
Leone. In September the NPFL launched an all-out assault on ECOMOG forces in
Monrovia, recruiting boys as young as eight to fight, and executing civilians
who refused to join. The siege temporarily shut down all transportation in or
out of the capital and killed thousands of civilians in the crossfire. ECOMOG
succeeded in pushing the NPFL back into the countryside by January 1993. In the
meantime, ULIMO had captured much of western Liberia, but had split along ethnic
lines into two warring factions, ULIMO-J and ULIMO-K.
At a peace conference in July 1993 the
leaders of IGNU, NPFL, and ULIMO-K drew up a plan for a Liberian National
Transitional Government, led by a five-member Council of State consisting of one
NPFL leader, one ULIMO-K member, one IGNU representative, and two other
civilians. A cease-fire was implemented but progress towards lasting peace was
hampered by the appearance of a new armed group, the Liberian Peace Council
(LPC), and by the refusal of ULIMO-J to disarm. By mid-1994 the cease-fire had
completely failed, and fighting raged between the LPC and the NPFL, between
ULIMO-J and ULIMO-K, and between ULIMO-J and ECOMOG. The United Nations Observer
Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) was deployed to cooperate with ECOMOG in March. At
this time the United States issued a report condemning widespread human-rights
violations in Liberia.
The leaders of the factions secretly met
in August 1994, and negotiated a timeline for disarmament and the institution of
a Council of State based on the 1993 plan, but with six members. A cease-fire in
December was interrupted by skirmishes until a formal peace accord was signed in
August 1995. The peace was broken in April 1996 when an uprising by ULIMO-J in
the outskirts of Monrovia quickly spread into the capital, sparking
street-to-street fighting and looting. Another cease-fire was declared in
August, and Monrovia was reclaimed by ECOMOG forces. In all, more than 150,000
Liberians died in the seven-year civil war, and well over 1 million people were
displaced.
E | Return to Democracy |
An ECOMOG disarmament program was
initiated under the August 1996 peace agreement. Despite some minor skirmishes
and an assassination attempt on Taylor, the disarmament proceeded relatively
smoothly. ECOMOG forces cleared land mines and reopened the country’s roads,
allowing refugees to begin returning from neighboring countries and humanitarian
aid to reach the previously inaccessible interior. The disarmament program was
declared a success in January 1997. Under considerable international scrutiny,
presidential and legislative elections were held in July. Charles Taylor, the
man who instigated the Liberian Civil War eight years earlier, was elected
president by a landslide, and his political party, the National Patriotic Party,
won a majority of seats in the National Assembly. The elections were judged free
and fair by international election observers.
Taylor pledged to forge national
reconciliation and appointed leaders of rival factions to various government
positions. After the last ECOMOG forces withdrew from Liberia in 1999, however,
Taylor’s security forces were criticized by international groups for alleged
human rights abuses against members of the opposition. Beginning in 2000
government forces shut down several independent newspapers and radio stations.
In 2001 the UN imposed economic sanctions
against Liberia for aiding rebel groups in neighboring Sierra Leone. Taylor’s
administration also allegedly aided rebels in both Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire.
Taylor accused Guinea of supporting a new Liberian rebel group called Liberians
United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and retaliated with several
attacks on Guinean border towns. LURD rebels gained control over significant
amounts of northern Liberia by 2002, soon limiting Taylor’s authority to little
more than Monrovia. After months of fighting and international pressure (notably
from the United States), Taylor agreed to step down in August 2003 as part of an
overall peace agreement, and he went into exile in Nigeria. A Special Court,
jointly administered by the United Nations and the Sierra Leone government,
later brought war crimes charges against Taylor, and in June 2007 he went on
trial in The Hague (see War Crimes Trials). In October, Liberian
businessman Charles Gyude Bryant was sworn in as Liberia’s new president,
charged with overseeing a two-year power-sharing transitional government. The
bicameral legislature was replaced temporarily by an interim National
Transitional Legislative Assembly. Under the 2003 peace agreement, the United
Nations Security Council formally established a peacekeeping force known as the
UN Mission in Liberia.
In November 2005 elections Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf, an economist and longtime political dissident, was elected
president. She became the first female head of state of an African nation.
Elections were also held for the restored bicameral legislature. Johnson-Sirleaf
defeated George Weah, a popular former soccer star, winning more than 59 percent
of the vote.
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